On-Camera

I had a great session with casting director Alison Franck as part ofThe Actor’s Green Room! Check out their Facebook page here. If you’re an actor looking for great sides for private sessions, seethis awesome resource. If you want monologues, checkthisout.

Recently I had the honour of meeting South African Olympic gold medalist, Cameron Van Der Burgh. He flew to Port Elizabeth to give a talk at a corporate breakfast at The Granary in Stanley Street. What struck me most about him as he spoke us through his vigorous training routine leading up to the Olympics was his humility. He seemed very down to earth as he explained his typical schedule for a day in preparation for his life-altering race. Let me put it to you simply – a lot of training in the pool and in the gym, as well as meetings with his physios and a lot of studying towards his degree through UNISA each day. He trains with Dirk Lange and is based in Pretoria. Talking about his history, he elaborated on some of his highlights; he’s won numerous World Championship medals since his debut in 2007 when he took a bronze medal. His first world long-course record (27.06s) was obtained in the 50 m breaststroke in the semifinals at South African nationals in April 2009. He won the 50m breaststroke at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in a time of 27.18 seconds – a new games record – and the 100m world title at the 2010 short course world championships. He’s represented South Africa at the 2008 Summer Olympics and, most recently, at the 2012 Summer Olympics where he won the gold medal at the 100 meter breaststroke in a new world record of 58.46 seconds! He’s won the FINA overall World Cup twice. He certainly seemed very chuffed with his successes but still had a nice sense of humour and was able to laugh at himself easily, which was great to see. On Twitter he describes himself as “Olympic Champion and self proclaimed Fifa king ;)” – Follow him at https://twitter.com/Cameronvdburgh I didn’t know he was born in 1988, making him the same age as me! Check out his website at: http://www.cameronvanderburgh.com It was a fantastic morning with a continental breakfast buffet available to all the guests afterwards. I was also very happy to see I got some coverage with him in the October issue of the ‘Sport Elizabeth’ sports publication!

Another thrilling experience I had recently was the release of a music video I am in. It’s the video for the song “Hold On” by popular South African band Mac Stanley, previously known as Flat Stanley. It was a huge honour for me to do this video – I play ‘Sleeping Beauty’ and I come in toward the end of the video when my prince charming finds me after searching through a forest and we share a very long on-screen kiss! 😛 I absolutely love the song and its message is very beautiful! The video has already had close to 1000 views on YouTube after being out for just 2 weeks! Watch this space – This band is going places. Check out their website: http://www.macstanley.com/

I recently went to the “Cape Town Good Food & Wine Fest”. I did it because I love food and wine. This was a whole day of walking around discovering new tastes and brands that the Western Cape has to offer. My best was the Vrede en Lust wine stall. I bought their flagship wine for myself – The Boet Erasmus 2009. We shot their video profile for Skybok recently as a result! I made a new friend in The Pillsbury man while we walked around! I also entered a competition to win a car. The wine tasting was way too much fun. I went with my good friend Candice and we had a fabulous time sampling this new champagne vodka that’s out. We also tried shots, cocktails and a new Bubblegum flavoured liqueur by a company called Smooch Beverages.

I’ll be appearing on the Expresso breakfast show and Top Billing on the 3rd of July, so tune in if you like! 🙂 Recently I shot the new music video for a band called Mac Stanley (previously known as Flat Stanley) and their song ‘Hold On’. It was very cool! I had to be a graceful sleeping beauty and smooch my prince 🙂

The past few weeks have seen me very busy here in the film & entertainment industry in Cape Town. Something I’m very proud of is the recording of a few radio adverts for Algoa FM. A couple were for companies situated in Port Elizabeth, including Greenacres Hospital and my family’s business Doubell Machines & Equipment. I also recorded some voice over work for in-store promotions at Shoprite & Checkers. And then one especially exciting one for my business, Skybok! Here is a snap of me in studio:

I finished up work for the new SKYYVODKA ‘Mix-a-cocktail’ iPad application. I recorded the voice-over for the app’s tutorial yesterday and I shot the tutorial itself (my hands guiding you through the app).

On the PR side of things, I was asked to cover an event for the couture label FCM, who held a Fashion Party at Club 169 in Longstreet here in Cape Town. They are a great local label. On the modelling side, I’m off to London tomorrow for Top Model (here are articles where I have written about it in the past if you want to know more):

I thank The Herald’s Weekend Post for the lovely write-up I received this past weekend about it:

When I get back to South Africa on March 20th, I’m looking forward to seeing my uncle David Aldo, who is flying in from Los Angeles to do a tour of South Africa. FYI he’s is a singer in Los Angeles who started out singing at the Polo Lounge in Beverley Hills. He has been blessed to have performed at such events as Demi Moore & Ashton Kutcher’s wedding, Rod Stewart’s birthday and other private events for stars Jennifer Lopez, Demi Moore, Michael Douglas, Robbie Williams and Janet Jackson amongst others. He was last in South Africa when he opened for Lionel Ritchie on his tour. His producer is the well-known Benjy Mudie, who was recently a guest judge on Idols SA – Click HERE to watch Benjy’s interview.

Okay so the last 2 weeks have been crazy. I did the 8 hour road trip back from my hometown Port Elizabeth seem to have been running around since then. Something I went to last weekend which was a cool event here in Cape Town was called the J & B Met. It’s a horse-racing event where gambling and fashion meet. There are hundreds of people who attend, to show off innovative garments and to place bets on the horses.

My uncle Pierre Strydom was one of the jockeys. He did very well on the day – he placed in three races and and had one win. The horse he rides is ‘Gimmethegreenlight’ – number 15 – and he came 3rd in the main race! So I was very proud.

My outifit was given to me by the very popular Longstreet Fashion Boutique. And let me tell you, walking around in those heels was another story (the price us girls pay!)

It was a lot of fun! We arrived after lunch and left at about 7pm. I made a few bets (it pays to have an uncle in the know) and won! so I walked away with a smile on my face. Work wise, I’m doing a job for a SKYY Vodka application on the iPAD where my hands and voice will be used for the tuturiol of their new ‘Mix-a-cocktail’ application. Hmmm, sounds fun!

Talking about my voice, I recently did a radio advert for Axe Deodrant.

As you may or may not know, the Axe campaign is “It Will Make Angels Fall”

I read somewhere that this commercial was banned in many countries (including South Africa) because Christians were offended at its satirical nature. They said that angels aren’t depicted in the Bible as scantily dressed or even female for that matter. One male Christian viewer wrote in that he was upset by “the suggestion that God’s messengers could literally fall for a man on the basis of his shop-bought fragrance.” Because of this, the country’s Advertising Standards Authority moved to ban the ad on the presumption that other viewers would also be offended. “The problem is not so much that angels are used in the commercial, but rather that the angels are seen to forfeit, or perhaps forego their heavenly status for mortal desires,” the ASA ruled. “This is something that would likely offend Christians in the same manner as it offended the complainant.”

On the acting scene, I’m shooting a commercial Monday for the very popular Thorpe Park, U.K. It’s regarded as being amongst the Top 6 amusement / theme parks in the U.K. It’s the nation’s ‘Thrill Capital’ with over 30 extreme rides & attractions.

My last experience of a theme park was in Johannesburg’s Gold Reef City. I remember going on the ‘Golden Loop’ and I was terrified! I’m doing this shoot in a bikini, so here’s putting all the Quality Streets I have stashed in my kitchen away 🙂 Think of me this weekend as I rediscover the glories of the Virgin Active’s ‘Stepper’